Where We Belong
by Hanyou Keeper
Summary: I love writing these types of things, you know, where the pairing is so obvious, it's painful. KagomeInu Yasha. Rather sweet.
1. Chapter 1

Inu Yasha sat pensively on a boulder, his back to the river behind him, while Kagome bathed. He wasn't worried about Shippou or any of their other companions; they could take care of themselves. Though he knew that she too could take care of herself, when Kagome had decided to leave camp so she could bathe, Inu Yasha had felt an overpowering need to protect her. Now he sat on a boulder, thinking about the mission they had undertaken.  
They had gathered the shards of the Shikon jewel, made it whole again, and left it in the care of Kaede. Now they were after another incredibly special item: The Vortex Crystal. It too had been shatterd, but by an ancient's sword, not Kagome's arrow, as the Shikon jewel had. Inu Yasha had suspected from the beginning that the seacrh for the crystal shards would be much harder than the search for the Shikon shards, which had already been proved thus far. Kagome would probably have a scar down her spine where a hawk demon had cut her during their battle for the first shard of the Vortex Crystal. Inu Yasha's only regret after that battle was that he hadn't killed the demon sooner.  
Kagome surfaced behind Inu Yasha, startling him out of his thoughts. He unconciously turned to look at her, thinking they might be under attack again. Kagome wasn't looking at him, she was standing in the water, which only reached her knees, staring off toward the forest in front of her. Inu Yasha's eyes began to wander, noticing that Kagome had decided not to wear her swimsuit into the water. He blinked, then, realizing he was staring at her, he blushed lightly and turned back around.  
The last time Kagome had visited her own time, she had brought back something special for each member of their traveling group. For Inu Yasha she had brought a nice, modern, mortal oufit that fit him as if it had been made for him. It consisted of a pair of light blue jeans and a black t- shirt. For Shippou she had brought one of her younger brother Sota's long, thick jackets. For Sango, a fighting outfit she could wear beneath her robes. For Miroku, a crucifix necklace. For Sango's cat, a toy that Sango carried in her pack. For Koga, a volume on wolflore from her time.  
Inu Yasha sat on the boulder in his jeans, his t-shirt in a pile next ot him. Kagome came over and sat next to him. "Are you ready to go back to camp?" Kagome asked him. Inu Yasha looked at her. She was dressed once more, wearing a light blue, V-neck t-shirt, a pair of loose khaki cargoes, and her favorite pair of slip-on Konichi Ohi-Re tennis shoes. "I don't know, I guess. I'm a little hungry, but that's it. I could sit here like this forever, in the sunlight, thinking about the future. I don't know, are you ready to leave so easily?" he answered, taking a deep breath. Kagome looked around, and then at Inu Yasha. "No, not really." she said, leaning her head back and letting her hair dry naturally. Inu Yasha glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, slowly taking inventory of how the last few months, fighting demons, and the normal course of her mortal life, had changed her body. Inu Yasha shuddered imperceptibly and looked away. He couldn't believe himself. He kept reminding himself that he didn't like her, but he couldn't shake the feeling of wanting to stare at her constantly.  
In years, he was way older than her, but his body was only a year, maybe two, older than her. He couldn't remember how old he had been when Kikyo had shot him, but his body was only a handful of months older than he had been back then. If she had been any other girl, he might have admitted he was attracted to her. But she wasn't any other girl. She was Kagome. She was believed to be the reincarnation of Kikyo. She was special, different from the others in more than one way.  
Kagome was secretly watching Inu Yasha through squinted eyes, watching him breathe, tracking the expressions that rushed across his face. She was attracted to him, but refused to admit it to anyone because, well, he was Inu Yasha. He had said a long time ago that he hated her. He had said she reminded him of Kikyo, the one who had shot him all those years ago. This new mission of theirs was going to stretch their already strained relationship to or beyond its limits. 


	2. Chapter 2

Kagome drifted off on the boulder, her head lolling over to rest on Inu Yasha's lower arm. He glanced down at her quickly, still on his guard. Pretty soon he fell asleep too, sitting up and still on guard. The day slowly drew to an end, fading into nighttime.  
Sango went looking for Inu Yasha and Kagome some time later. She found them asleep on the boulder, the picture of a perfect couple who refused to admit they were attracted to one another, and smiled to herself before heading back to camp.  
Kagome woke up first, a little stiff from sleeping on a boulder. She hadn't opened her eyes yet or moved anything other than her legs, which she'd had curled up under her all night. She lay quietly for a few minutes, not quite aware of anything but the boulder and the rushing sound of the river. Then she opened her eyes. She lifted her head slowly and looked around.  
When Inu Yasha had fallen asleep the night before, he had leaned back against the dugout-chair-shaped boulder he sat on, causing his arm to move and Kagome's head to drop lightly onto his stomach. While he slept, he had put the arm she'd been laying on around her, unconciously pulling her close.  
When she looked around, Kagome saw she'd been sleeping in a somewhat- sitting position with her head on Inu Yasha's chest and with his arm around her. She looked up at him, but his head was tilted away from her. She half-smiled, lay her head back down, and fell asleep again.  
Inu Yasha woke up a little later. He opened his eyes and looked around. He saw Kagome, asleep, half laying on him, with his arm around her. He moved the hand that currently lay on Kagome's stomach and moved an errant tendril of hair out of her face. Then, after staring at her for a few moments, he started to move around, which woke Kagome up.  
"I gather we never went back to camp. Wait, that was stupid. It's rather obvious we're not in camp. I should never have said that." Kagome said, yawning and stretching. "Don't even start, dog-boy." she added when she saw the mischevious look on Inu Yasha's face. "I wasn't going to say anything. I was going to do this." he said, picking her up. He carried her over to the river and dumped her in, clothing and all. On her way down, Kagome grabbed Inu Yasha's ankle, dragging him in after her. After a second, they both came up, laughing, sputtering,a nd splashing each other.  
When they finally climbed out, both were soaking wet and laughing. "I didn't know you had any fun in you, except that you seem to enjoy killing other demons. I've seen the fire in your eyes when we're fighting. It's as if you can't get enough of the pain of other demons. Oh great, I have water in my shoes." Kagome said, sliding one off and dumping the water out of it. "Yeah, I just feel like a little boy around you and sometimes I have to be vicious so I don't get killed. You make me feel weak." he muttered, starting to laugh again to cover himself. "SIT and shut up!!!" Kagome yelled. He hit the ground. Inu Yasha started laughing harder, giving himslef the hiccups, which got Kagome going too.  
Pretty soon, the laughter died away and their stomachs hurt, both from laughing and from hunger. They both decided to head back to camp. Inu Yasha grabbed his t-shirt on their way past the boulder while Kagome walked beside him with her shoes in hand.  
When they got back to the camp, everyone was up except Shippou, who, they were told, had appointed himself guard the night before in Inu Yasha's absence and had fallen asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow when Sango got up.  
"You're both soaking wet! What happened?" Sango asked, eyeing them knowingly. Kagome and Inu Yasha answered at the same time, "Early morning water fight. Quite refreshing." Sango smiled while Koga and Miroku finished eating their breakfast. 


End file.
